Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) are a growing global problem.[1] The impact of increasing prevalence of mTBI is particularly problematic when considering the increasing evidence base that up to half of those affected by an mTBI can experience longer-term effects.2,3 These long-term effects include persistent concussion symptoms, impaired cognition, poorer mental health and a decreased ability to function well in everyday life.[2, 3] There is also evidence of an increased risk and earlier onset of longer term health challenges such as stroke and dementia.[4, 5] Evidence shows that early recognition and intervention improves outcomes following mTBI. It is therefore critical to identify those who are at risk of experiencing ongoing problems in order to prevent escalating treatment costs, and higher individual and societal burden.
How TBIs are identified and treated worldwide can vary widely across and within different countries even for moderate and severe TBI injuries.[6] In the case of mTBIs there are several unique challenges in trying to ensure consistent best practice in health care pathways. Firstly, patients present for first medical contact across a range of different services (e.g. school and prison health care teams, sports physicians, physiotherapists, accident clinics, hospital emergency departments). Secondly, medical management is dependent upon a wide range of clinical risk factors (such as prior TBIs or the use of anticoagulants) that professionals are required to be aware of. This is particularly challenging for newly qualified practitioners and those who do not regularly see patients presenting with mTBIs. Thirdly, how international guidelines have been interpreted and implemented varies considerably across contexts (e.g. there are wide differences in assessment processes between sport and non-sport related mild TBI). A further challenge is the differences in health care systems across the globe.
Assessments focusing on loss of consciousness and/or alterations in mental state and associated injury mechanisms have not been found to adequately predict how a person will recover.[7] Further, prognostic models for moderate and severe injuries do not translate well to mTBI.[8] The best predictors of poor prognosis following mTBI include, a history of previous TBI, female sex, pre-existing mental health difficulties, delays in seeking medical attention after injury, older age, use of poor coping strategies, and an increased severity of initial symptoms.[8, 9] Within the sports context the Sports Concussion Assessment tool (SCAT-5)[10] includes physical assessment tests, a series of memory questions, such as “which half is it now” and a 22-item symptom scale. However, the authors have acknowledged its limited role in tracking recovery and assisting in return to play/sport decision and the SCAT-5’s use is restricted to those who have been trained in the use of the tool.[10] Additionally, there is currently no evidence to support its applicability to non-sport related mTBIs such as vehicle accidents, assaults and everyday slips, trips and falls. These additional causes together account for 80% of mTBIs.[11] In the research context, the most commonly used tool for assessing impact of mTBI is the Rivermead Post-concussion symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ)[12]. However, the underlying factor structure of the RPQ has been found to vary considerably between samples and over time making it difficult to use either total or subscale scores confidently in outcome prediction. Neither of these tools have been designed to directly inform clinical pathway decision making.[13, 14]
To support a more consistent health care management pathway for mTBI and to support the implementation of clinical guidelines for mTBIs, the Brain Injury Screening Tool (BIST) tool was developed by a multidisciplinary working group [15] in order to support the health care decision making process at the first medical contact after injury. The BIST was designed to be brief, able to be completed by any health professional at the first point of medical contact, without the need for specific training. The BIST is designed to support the clinical interview for the mTBI through assessing the level of risk of acute and persistent problems post-injury as well as assessing information about how the injury was sustained, loss of consciousness, and presence of possible risk factors. The BIST also comprises of a symptom scale that asks about possible symptoms in comparison to before the injury. As part of measure development, it is important to explore performance at both a clinical and a measurement level. The BIST tool has previously been found to have good readability (estimated reading age of 6-8years), ease of completion, good scale reliability, concurrent validity and a three factor underlying structure, with support for use of a total scale score.[15] Rasch analysis builds estimates of true intervals of item difficulty and person ability and transforms ordinal scales into interval measures that may be used in parametric statistical analyses and clinical decision making. For example, calculating individual change scores requires subtraction and this is only legitimate with a unidimensional interval scale such as Rasch provides. The aim of the present analysis was to extend our preliminary evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Brain Injury Screening Tool (BIST) symptom scale using the Rasch analysis, and to obtain a reliable, unidimensional, interval level measurement score for potential clinical use.